Where to print large format custom prints?

[jemes-j]

Hi!

I want to print a large format pano print for my folks. The size is 1050mm x 390mm so its not a normal format.

ok few questions about it..

A: where do i get it printed? I have been quoted about $100 and dont want to play with bad printers for this price
B: will the 10mp pic be enough to sustain the quality?
C: What program do people use to minimise loss when enlarging?

Thanks in advance!

[Samuel]

Well you should look around for local printers. That would be your best shot. They can tell you what they need from you. Then they can show you a sample, talk about print formats and what you wanted it printed on.

They will be more then happy to help, they are friendly at print shops! Just look in your phonebook, call around, look on the web for local places.

[Pet]

look into costco if you have one near you. I got the vector I made of my nephew printed from them on an 12 by 16. It turned out great.

[unit_number_43]

Pet, if you were printing from the native PSD or AI file then the image would be scalable losslessly because it is vector.

Jemes-J,

When you start talking about large scale print you have to consider a lot more than just raw size. You need to also take into account the distance at which people will be viewing the image. A 10mp image at 1050mm wide is going to translate into about 72dpi give or take. If you're looking at 72dpi from 20cm away it's going to look grainy. But if you're looking at a 72dpi print from 5 meters away it'll look completely clear.

To get an idea of how it will look; take that photo and print it off on your home printer from Photoshop. under the print setting make sure it's set to 72dpi and turn off scaling. What you should get is a really close-up print of part of the photo. Now tape that on a wall and step back, that's the quality you'll get from a 10mp image at 1050mm without any kind of retouching or scaling.

As for WHERE to get it done. Try a sign shop. I'm assuming, since you're using meters instead of feet, that you're not American. Here they have franchises like "signs by tomorrow" and "fast signs" that can do your large scale prints quickly and at a high quality. I don't know of a Euro equivalent They should also be able to show you some different quality prints, just ask to see something printed at the same quality that yours will be done.